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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28309293">The Archivists</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/spacedogprincess/pseuds/spacedogprincess'>spacedogprincess</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>9 (2009)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Gen</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 15:27:13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Not Rated</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,070</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28309293</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/spacedogprincess/pseuds/spacedogprincess</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>The Scientist observes the waking moments of Three and Four, and how they interact with Two and One.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Yuletide 2020</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>The Archivists</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">
      <li>For <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/ratbat/gifts">ratbat</a>.</li>



    </ul><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>I really hope you enjoy this one, ratbat! I wanted to explore the early moments of Three and Four, and how they bonded with the other living stitchpunks, and this cute little scene came to mind.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Come on now,” I said, cradling the two newest creations in my arms. “Come on, wake up.”</p>
<p>One and Two were also nearby, watching anxiously as I tried to awaken their new brothers.</p>
<p>“Did it not work,” Two asked.</p>
<p>“No it probably did,” One responded. “It just takes a moment after the transference. It was the same for you.”</p>
<p>One and Two, a few days old, and already bickering like children. I smiled a bit at them, then resumed my care to try and awaken Three and Four.</p>
<p>I tried to imbibe two creations at once, hoping that I could speed up the process of making these ... I guess children is the right word for them. These children of mine. But the creation of Three and Four was too taxing on my brain and my body, and I felt much weaker than after the creation of One and Two. From here on out, I’d have to make them one at a time.</p>
<p>And I hope I had enough time.</p>
<p>Four was the first to stir. Their frail body moved slowly as they opened their eyes, looking up first at me, then over to their sibling. As they stood up and moved over to Three, Three also began stirring slowly.</p>
<p>Thank God I had succeeded.</p>
<p>A few moments later both of them were up, stirring and moving about the tabletop surface, curiously exploring the areas around them. Unlike One and Two, I wasn’t able to give them voice boxes, for their purpose was far greater than the ability to communicate. I had to use that space in their bodies to fit them with recording devices, able to take pictures and video of their surroundings.</p>
<p>It was my hope that they would keep a record of humanity’s final days. A record to share with those who came after them.</p>
<p>“Three, Four.” I said. They both looked up at me, their eyes flickering like a movie projector.</p>
<p>“Do you know who I am?” I asked. They continued staring at me, their eyes flickering constantly, and then they turned to each other and flickered their eyes.</p>
<p>They were communicating! With their eyes. I hadn’t even anticipated that, and immediately noted it down in my notebook. As I did so, Four walked over to the edge of my book, staring at me writing down the notes. They looked at the ink scribbled across the page.</p>
<p>“What are they doing,” Two asked, as curious about his new sibling as I was.</p>
<p>“They’re observing,” I answered. “Learning, much like you did in your first few moments. Don’t you remember?”</p>
<p>Two nodded his head in understanding.</p>
<p>Three came up behind Four, and the two of them began looking curiously at my notebook. They started turning the page backwards, and I realized they were taking it in. Reading it. Learning from it. Occasionally they would look at each other, flash their eyes and one another, and then would keep reading the notebook.</p>
<p>After about twenty minutes, they had completed looking through the notebook, and then furiously began flashing their eyes at one another.</p>
<p>One and Two had held back while Three and Four were exploring the book, but now that they were done, Two made his way tentatively towards them.</p>
<p>“Hi,” Two said, and Three and Four jumped back a bit, holding onto each other. Three looked up nervously at me.</p>
<p>“It’s okay,” I said, trying to encourage them to join the group. They looked back at two, who had already gotten together the materials to make some small gadget, and a moment later had put a lightbulb together and turned it into a miniature torch.</p>
<p>Three and Four were fascinated by this, and as soon as Two had finished, Four moved forward, and took the torch to hold, while Three documented it. Then, they both disassembled it neatly, and laid the pieces in front of Two, stepping back.</p>
<p>“Two,” I said, “I think they want you to reassemble it so they can record how you do it.”</p>
<p>“Is that so,” Two asked the twins, and they nodded, Three beginning to record the event by flickering their eyes. Two reassembled the Torch, and once he was done, Three stopped, and then Three and Four communicated again. Then they reached forward, and picked up a random assortment of other items on my desk, and laid them out in front of Two, stepping back again to record.</p>
<p>Two wasn’t sure what to do at first. They hadn’t given him the ingredients for one particular invention, just a random assortment, but he quickly came up with something, and made a small little rotating wheel out of everything. Three and Four excitedly recorded every step, and once they were done, they brought over more things.</p>
<p>They continued on like this for the better part of an hour, Three and Four bringing forth various clutter from my lab, and Two assembling them into various inventions. Some of them were pretty ingenious, and I found that Three and Four were doing more than just documenting, but also learning. They began to realize what components Two found more useful, and learned to bring forth things that would be easier to invent something with.</p>
<p>I even noticed Two enjoying the exercise. So far, Two had only been working to invent things that he and One had needed, or that his mind put together observing scrap, but now he was asked to think outside the box and was coming up wish some pretty nifty inventions.</p>
<p>I could rest at east that at the very least, the spirit of human curiosity would live on amongst my creations.</p>
<p>One remained on the outskirts during the evening, his lofty and cautious nature still holding him back from forming any true connections. He and Two had learned to work together, but the bond that was forming between Two, Three and Four was much more detailed. They all challenged each other.</p>
<p>Two, the inventor, and Three and Four, the archivists. Working together, maybe my children might be able to save the soul of humanity after all. If nothing else, at least they would have a good time, for all of them seemed to be having fun and playing with each other.</p>
<p>It was at that moment, watching the four creations come and begin to work together, that I noticed one other trait that will continue to live on. The spirit of human friendship.</p>
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